Coffee Break

[Douglas McMann]

I would always be wondering though....maybe this shot would look good in colour, but by then it's too late....

 

[Rob MacKillop]

Great silhouette image Rob. I note you've used "in-camera" B&W...is this better than going with Silver Efex...???

Dougie, since getting the Merrills I've been using the Nik filters less and less. I still use them for special effects, but I find the camera gives me a big chunk of what I'm looking for in the first place.

But it is also the RAW editor which Sigma provides with each camera (actually, you download it now) which contributes to what you see here. It is an odd piece of software, and the reviews have not been too generous with it. But through repeated use I've grown familiar with it, and it is full of little surprises, and I think complements the camera well.

 

[Rob MacKillop]

I would always be wondering though....maybe this shot would look good in colour, but by then it's too late....

Dougie, One of the things I like about film photography is walking around "seeing" the world in black and white, or Kodachrome, or whatever film is in the camera. When you do that, you take different shots - I'm sure of it. So, the experience is different.

And one of the things I've enjoyed about the Merrills (and it may just be my imagination) is the similarity to shooting with film. I can't explain it. And by electing b&w only, I walk around seeing the world differently. Give it a try. You never know, it might inspire you in some ways. Or not.

So, back to the present photo - cafe's are always b&w to me. I knew we were heading there, so I set my camera to b&w before we left the house. I don't know - it's just fun to do.

And this was exactly the degree of blackness I wanted when I saw the scene, with the bright sunshine outside, the silhouettes inside. It's exactly what I had in mind. For once!

 

[Julian de'Courcy]

Enjoyed the photo Rob and also your take on how you are influenced by B+W. Got me thinking which these days is a big bonus. Thanks.

I would always be wondering though....maybe this shot would look good in colour, but by then it's too late....

@Douglas McMann As long it is taken in Raw the B+W can be processed into colour images within the Raw converter, SSP. Not sure if this has not been mentioned, in which case you'd know.

 

[Rob MacKillop]

Good point, Julian! It's more a question of seeing in either b&w or colour, and that influencing what you shoot.

 

[Julian de'Courcy]

Good point, Julian! It's more a question of seeing in either b&w or colour, and that influencing what you shoot.

One of my favourite and most successful mediums has been charcoal on paper which I adore. So have worked extensively in B+W. It does of course abstract or take away a lot of information, but often reveals what is essential and only that which is necessary.

 

[Beth Carter]

rich b&w tones, love the silhouettes of the customers.

 

[Pete Askew]

It is a very good composition Rob and I like the way you have kept the exterior and reduced the interior to silhouette only. I agree with Tom though about the shadow and would tempted to crop some of the bottom and the right. Maybe just to the left of that light vertical line. What do you think?

@Tom Dunne, yes you can use a PM system on RPF (it is referred to as 'conversations' in the software). You should see an inbox just to the left of the alerts tab at the top of the thread window. I'll send you a message so you can see how it works.

 

[Rob MacKillop]

Thanks, Beth.

 

[Rob MacKillop]

Thanks, Pete. I'm perfectly happy with the picture the way it is. I only crop these days if I really have to, to save a picture, or to change the format. It keeps it more natural, I think, 'faults' and all.

 

[Pete Askew]

I know what you mean and sometimes it really feels like cheating when one crops an image to improve the composition (I'm not saying that this image in particular needs improving though). Sometimes I take an image intending to crop - for example, with the M9 intending to present a square composition. Sometimes I will adjust the framing slightly - the images from the train had to have some small adjustments made even though I was using the screen to frame them as I was being jiggled about by the motion of the train. In LF, one tends to go with as composed as that should be what is on the negative / back. I guess what I am aiming towards is that getting the image right in camera is a good ideal and getting the image one visualised may or may not come from that. Despite that, images do grow out of a capture sometimes. It is an interesting theme and one worth discussing further I think as I'm certainly not necessarily right in my thinking.

 

[Rob MacKillop]

I too take some shots knowing they will be cropped later, as in square format. That's OK. But when I look at a lot of my favourite shots by other photographers from the old black and white era, they very often have what might consider dead space. But I wouldn't want to crop them, and I'm glad the original shooter didn't crop them.

 

[Pete Askew]

Of course you don't know what the original negative contained and only see the final print (unless the margin is shown as well), but I take your point. Actually, thinking about it a bit more, I tend to re-frame smaller formats more than larger. My guess that is because, especially with the MF systems I use, I am framing using a WLF rather than a viewfinder as such. Interesting.

 

[Douglas McMann]

@Douglas McMann As long it is taken in Raw the B+W can be processed into colour images within the Raw converter, SSP. Not sure if this has not been mentioned, in which case you'd know.

Thanks
Julian, I did not know that....!...doh...!